For centuries, the sight of Oxford students in their distinctive academic gowns has been as familiar in the city as its dreaming spires.

But the ancient university has been forced to rewrite its traditional dress code – to avoid upsetting transgender students. From next month, men will be allowed to wear skirts or stockings to exams while women can choose suits or white bow ties.

Under the old regulations, male students were required to wear a dark suit with dark socks, black shoes, a white bow tie, and a plain white shirt and collar beneath their black gowns when attending formal occasions such as examinations.

Equal opportunities: Men will be able to wear skirts at Oxford University for the first time ever in order to cater for cross-dressers (file picture posed by models)

Female students have to wear a dark
skirt or trousers, a white blouse, a black ribbon tied in a bow at the
neck, black stockings and shoes.

The dress code is strictly enforced by
the university's authorities, which have the power to punish students
deemed in breach of the rules.

Punishments range from fines to
rustication – the suspension of a student for a period of time – or
expulsion, known as 'sending down'.

However, the university's council,
headed by Vice-Chancellor Andrew Hamilton, has dropped any distinction
between the sexes by deleting all references to men and women.

While students are still required to
dress appropriately for formal occasions and exams, they no longer need
to ensure their 'sub-fusc' – the clothes worn with full academic dress –
is distinctive 'for each sex'.

The reforms were introduced following a
campaign by the student union, which argued that transgender students,
including transvestite or 'gender confused' men and women, could face
punishment if they wore 'inappropriate' dress.

The change in rules came in response to concerns from Oxford University Student Union that the interests of transgender students were not being served (file picture posed by models)

Jess Pumphrey, the union's Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer executive officer, said the change
would make a small number of students' exam experiences 'significantly
less stressful by eliminating the need for trans students to cross-dress
to avoid being... disciplined during their exam'.

She said there was 'an active
transgender community' in Oxford, and every member she had spoken to
'had found sub-fusc, under the old regulations, to be stressful'. But
one unnamed law student told the university newspaper Cherwell: 'This
seems a bit unnecessary. It only applies to a tiny percentage of the
student population and it seems unlikely that a trans student would
really be confronted about what they are wearing.'

Former students also voiced their
concerns about the change. Ann Widdecombe, who graduated from Lady
Margaret Hall in 1972, said: 'If men want to prance around in skirts,
that is entirely up to them.

'In my day, it would have been
unthinkable – men were men and women were women, and we dressed
accordingly. But I think the university is just saving itself from a
silly row, and from that point of view I'm on their side. Why go
courting a silly row when they don't need one?'

A spokesman for Oxford said: 'The
regulations have been amended to remove any reference to gender, in
response to concerns raised by Oxford University Student Union that
regulations did not serve the interests of transgender students.'